A 20th Anniversary Tea Party Celebration for St. John Dial-A-Ride Transportation and Supportive Services will take place from noon to 2 p.m. on Grandparent’s Day, Sunday, Sept. 9, at the St. Ursula’s Multipurpose Center in Cruz Bay, St. John. The community is invited to show appreciation for one of our most valuable resources and to thank those who make services to this population possible.
Grandparent’s Day was instigated to encourage grandchildren to tap the wisdom and heritage their grandparents could provide. President Jimmy Carter, in 1978, proclaimed that National Grandparents Day would be celebrated every year on the first Sunday after Labor Day. September was chosen for the holiday, to signify the "autumn years" of life.
That’s when Reverend Worrell, who is the guest of honor for the event, stepped up and said the St. John Baptist Church would take the lead. With funding from United Way and advice from Virgin Islands Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities, who operated Dial-A-Ride services in St. Thomas, the St. John program was soon underway.
“St. John Community Foundation rescued the program from pending closure in 1992, and has been successfully providing transportation and supportive services for 20 years now, and that is something to celebrate,” according to Oswin Sewer, another of the founding board members of the St. John Community Foundation, who remembers being part of the unanimous vote to bring the program under the umbrella of the foundation. Alecia M. Wells, senior warden of St. Ursula’s Multi-Purpose Center, is proud to have a visionary like Rev. Kortright Worrell as a participant in their daily senior activities program.
St. John Dial-A-Ride provides an average of 250 rides per month. In addition to transportation for medical, work, educational, personal, civic, recreational and social trips, St. John Dial-A-Ride provides assistance and supportive services, such as shopping, medical appointment coordination, assistance with bill interpretation and payment, scheduling and referral services for local and visiting seniors, disabled veterans and disadvantaged individuals. We also coordinate and execute intergenerational community service projects for the seniors, disabled and disadvantaged, and in the past year, also include efforts to bridge the huge gap in services to the homeless on St. John.
“American Red Cross is pleased to be a part of the St. John Community Foundation Dial-A-Ride’s legacy. In addition to St. John Dial-A-Ride, other programs operating under the umbrella of the St. John Community Foundation include Using Sport for Social, St. John Film Society, St. John Recycling, JOY Volunteer Network, Friends Helping Friends Revolving Fund, The Gifft Hill Community Garden Park, as well as other collaborative community projects and events.
Find out how to support the St. John Community Foundation’s efforts by visiting their Web site: www.sjcf.org, e-mail them at allawe@sjcf.org or call the Marketplace Office at 693-9410.
